Exporting content from InDesign

Exporting content from InDesign to InCopy
establishes a link between the two applications. You export InDesign
text frames, graphics frames, and their contents to InCopy using
either of two methods:

Create a container file (*.icma)—called an assignment—and
add related groupings of document items (such as the text and graphics
of a story) to the assignment so they can be worked on together.
Content within assignments is exported as *.icml files.

After content is exported, small icons appear at the top left
of exported frames in InDesign and InCopy, and in the Assignments
panel. A link to the exported file appears in the Links panel. These
icons indicate the status of managed frames and they differentiate
managed frames from those that aren’t part of the workflow. All
exported content appears in the Assignments panel. Content exported
using the Export menu commands appears in the Unassigned InCopy
Content section of the Assignments panel list. While both methods establish
a controlled connection between InCopy content and an InDesign document,
the primary method is to use assignment files.

Exporting content makes the content available for users to check
out while maintaining a link to the original InDesign document.
(This link is made from within InDesign; you cannot create the link
from InCopy.)

Once the content is exported, InCopy users can see (but not change)
the page layouts, styles, and so forth as they appear in the InDesign
document.

Note:

You can also create text or anchored graphics
using InCopy and then place them in InDesign.

Assignments panel overview

The primary tool for working with assignments is the Assignments panel (Window > Assignments in InCopy, Window > Editorial > Assignments in InDesign). The Assignments panel displays the files exported from the currently active InDesign document, and an icon indicates their status. The Assignments panel menu also contains commands that control import version and file-management functions between InCopy and InDesign. When you open an assignment in InCopy, the assignment name and its contents appear in the Assignments panel. You can double-click text and graphics frames in the Assignments panel to select them in the document window.

Note:

All content exported to InCopy or added to an assignment is also listed in the Links panel. Although you can do some workflow management tasks, such as checking out and checking in content, the recommended panel for these tasks is the Assignments panel.

A. InCopy content names B. Assignment
Out Of Date status C. Assignment
name D. Available And Text Up
To Date status E. In Use And Text Out
Of Date status F. Editing And Text Up
To Date status G. User name H. Update
Design button I. Update Content button J. Check
Out/Check In Selection button

Assignment files

In
InDesign, assignment files are containers for organizing collections
of page items. For example, you might want to select all the items
in a story (headline, byline, copy, graphics, and captions), and
then assign them to one InCopy user. Adding those items to an assignment
provides a convenient way for InCopy users to access only the content
for which they are responsible. Assignment files (*.icma) appear
in the file system, in the InCopy story bar, and in status messages.
Only InDesign users can create assignment files; only InCopy users
can open them.

When you create an assignment, a folder is created in the same
location as the InDesign document by default. This assignment folder
includes the *.icma assignment files and a content subfolder that
contains any exported InCopy story files (in .icml format) that
are part of images or other resources. Once the assignment is created,
store the project folder in a location where all users have access
to it, or create and distribute an assignment package. If content
is exported before it’s added to an assignment, the files on disk
are not moved to the content folder of the assignment file.

Assignment files include the following:

Links or pointers to the associated page items, including placeholder frames. These elements let the InCopy user open a single file in InCopy and have editorial access to multiple page items.

Any transformations on the graphics included in the assignment, such as moving, scaling, rotating, or shearing.

Page geometry, so InCopy users can see the layout of the frame and its content that they’re editing without opening the entire InDesign file.

Color-coding of assigned frames in the document.

Illustration of page in InCopy showing page geometry and color coding

Create assignments and add content (InDesign)

Only
InDesign users can create assignments and add content to them. There
are several ways to create assignments. The method you choose usually
depends on whether you have content to add at the time you create
the assignment.

Create empty assignment files. From
your InDesign document, you can create a series of empty assignments
to act as templates for content to come later.

Create assignments and add content at the same time.

Add content to an existing assignment file. You can add linked content—text
and graphics that have already been exported as InCopy content—or
you can add selected page items to become linked InCopy content.
If one or more of the selected frames already contain InCopy content files,
and none is part of an assignment, you can add them to a new or
existing assignment file.

By default, the assignment
folder you create is saved in the same folder as the InDesign document.
You can then place this folder on a server or create and send a
package.

Note:

If you don’t want InCopy users to place and fit
graphics, don’t add graphics frames to an assignment.

Create empty assignment files (InDesign)

In InDesign, save the document.

In the Assignments panel, choose New Assignment from
the panel menu.

In the New Assignment dialog box, specify assignment
file options and click OK.

Simultaneously create assignments
and add content (InDesign)

In InDesign, create a document that
has one or more text frames, graphics frames, or placeholder items,
and then save the document.

Select the text and graphics frames you want to add.

Do one of the following:

From the Assignments panel menu, choose Add
To Assignment, and then select New.

Choose Edit > InCopy > Add [option] To
Assignment > New.

In the New Assignment dialog box, specify assignment
file options and click OK.

The newly created assignment file includes any frames
selected in the document window.

Add content to existing assignments
(InDesign)

Save the InDesign document.

Select the text and graphics frames you want to add.

Do one of the following:

From the Assignments panel menu, choose Add
To Assignment, and then select the assignment.

Drag content from the Unassigned InCopy Content section
of the Assignments panel into an existing assignment.

Select page items with the Selection tool and drag
them to an existing Assignment in the Assignments panel.

Choose Update All Assignments from the Assignments panel menu
to make the content files available to InCopy users.

Note:

You can add content only to assignments in the
same document. However, you can import the same content into multiple
documents and add it to an assignment in each of those documents.

Assignment file options (InDesign)

When you create or modify an assignment file,
you can set the following options:

Assignment
Name

The unique identification of the assignment in the Assignments
panel, for example “Ocean article.” This name must conform to the
file naming conventions of the operating system.

Assigned To

The unique identification of the user assigned to the files.
The user’s name appears in parentheses following the assignment
name in the Assignments panel. Entering a name here is for informational
purposes only; it doesn’t grant special rights or permissions to
the user.

Color

Displays a list of colors for adding a distinctive highlight to the frames of the current assignment in the document window, and to the assignment names in the Assignments panel. This color coding differentiates frames that belong to one assignment from frames that belong to another, and it differentiates from unassigned frames. To toggle the display of this color coding, choose View > Extras > Show/Hide Assigned Frames. In InCopy, the color coding is visible only in Layout view.

Note:

If toggling the display of assigned frames produces unexpected results, those frames might be tagged for XML and View > Structure > Show Tagged Frames might be enabled. You cannot show assigned frames and tagged frames at the same time.

Change

Click the Change button to specify the location of the assignments
folder. By default, the assignments folder is created in the same
location as the InDesign file.

Placeholder Frames

Lets InCopy users see the text and graphics frames in the
assignment as well as boxes (or other shapes) representing all other
frames on those InDesign pages. All frames and placeholders accurately
reflect the size, shape, and location of the InDesign originals. Placeholder
frames are empty shapes that don’t show any of the content in the InDesign
document. The Placeholder Frames option provides the least amount of
fidelity, and therefore provides the fastest performance. In InCopy,
the placeholder frames are visible only in Layout view. InCopy users
cannot check out and edit placeholder frames.

Assigned Spreads

Lets InCopy users see all assigned frames, as well as the
entire contents of other frames that aren’t part of the assignment,
on the same spread. In InCopy, content in frames outside an assignment
isn’t editable and is visible only in Layout view.

All Spreads

Exports all content in the InDesign document to the assignment
file. This option provides the maximum amount of fidelity; it also
provides the slowest performance because the assignment file displays
the design and layout of every page, including pages not relevant
to the section a user is editing.

Linked Image Files When Packaging

Includes a copy of linked images in the assignment package.
Selecting this option gives InCopy users access to images but increases
the package’s file size. InCopy users can include images while returning
a package.

Export content as separate InCopy
files (InDesign)

If
your workgroup prefers working with separate files rather than using
assignments, you can export InCopy content without using an assignments
file. Compared with creating a single assignment file with references
to multiple content files and layout information, this method creates
a separate file (.icml) for each text or graphics frame you specify
in the document. To see the context of the content you are editing,
you must also open the associated InDesign document (.indd).

Cater
the InDesign document to suit your workflow needs. For example,
if you want all of the editor’s comments to be exported in a single
file, create a layer for the editor to make comments. You can then
export all the content on the selected layer.

Note:

A quick way
to export content as separate InCopy files is to use the Selection
tool to drag selected frames into the Unassigned InCopy Content
in the Assignments panel.

In InDesign, create a document with one or more
text frames, graphics frames, or placeholder items.

Do either of the following:

Select the text or graphics frame of a
single story, or Shift-click to select multiple frames.

Click an insertion point in a story, or select some
text in a text frame.

Choose Edit > InCopy > Export,
and then choose one of the following options:

Selection

Exports all selected text and graphics frames.

Layer

Exports all content on the selected layer.

All Stories

Exports every story that has not been exported already.

All Graphics

Exports every graphic that has not been exported already.

All Graphics And Stories

Exports every story and graphic that has not been exported already.

Note:

If you export all content in the document,
and then add more text or graphics frames to the same document,
you can save time exporting the new ones by using the Export >
All Stories (or All Graphics or All Graphics And Stories) command
again. InDesign exports only the new content.

Enter a name and location for the files, and then click
Save.

The file name you specify is used as a prefix for identifying
each exported content file in the file system. If you export multiple
text frames, the first several characters of the text are automatically
appended to the file name; for example, “mystory-Upcoming cycling
events.icml.” For multiple graphics frames, the file names are formed
as “mystory-graphic,” “mystory-graphic-1,” and so on. The file name
appears in the file system, in the InCopy story bar, and in status messages.

When prompted, save your InDesign file.

The InCopy content is now managed, and is available to
be checked out and edited by other users in the workflow.

Shared
content appears in the Links panel just like imported graphics.
If you move a shared file manually, you can use the Links panel
to update its link.

Note:

When you export content,
you see the Available icon on
the text frame (InDesign and InCopy), and in the Assignments panel
(InCopy). The word [Editing] appears in the story bar (InCopy).